When an instrument admits two constructions, the one safe, the other dangerous, the one precise, the other indefinite, I prefer that which is safe and precise.
Memoirs, 4: Correspondence and Private Papers (ed. 1829)
When an instrument admits two constructions, the one safe, the other dangerous, the one precise, the other indefinite, I prefer that which is safe and precise.
Memoirs, 4: Correspondence and Private Papers (ed. 1829)